Large London-based housing association Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) saw its surplus rise 48% last year thanks to the £140m sale of a development site to a property investor.
Notting Hill Genesis’ Canada Water scheme (picture: NHG/Sellar)
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Large London-based housing association Notting Hill Genesis saw its surplus rise 48% last year thanks to the £140m sale of a development site to a property investor #UKhousing
Financial results for the 66,000-home landlord showed it made a £144.7m before-tax surplus off a £909.1m turnover in 2020/21, up from £98.1m the previous year.
NHG said the increase was “largely due to sales-related activity”, including the sale of a 1,000-home development site in Canada Water, south-east London, being built jointly with Sellar Design and Build.
Buyer Art Invest Real Estate handed over £80m for the scheme in 2020/21, with another £60m due by January 2022.
Overall sales revenues increased by £151.6m compared with 2019/20 to £332.9m, with NHG’s margin on private sales rising from 13% to 18%.
Outgoing chief financial officer Paul Phillips said NHG has “turned the corner” over the issue of unsold homes – with the number falling from 610 to 548 during 2020/21.
But the association said it had “hoped to see a larger reduction in the number of unsold homes”, having transferred 271 to rental tenures during the year and been “unable to execute” a bulk sale of 160 homes in 2020/21, with the £61m deal completed in June 2021.
Unaudited accounts for NHG published in May revealed it had spent £22m buying back homes on the Paragon Estate in west London, where more than 1,000 households were evacuated in October last year after an intrusive survey identified several building safety concerns.
Its latest financial report said the exact cost to NHG from the evacuation and remediation works “remains uncertain as discussions with Berkeley First, who built the scheme, are ongoing”.
Forty of NHG’s 66 tenants at the development have now found alternative homes after being offered paid-for interim accommodation in serviced flats.
“We continue to work with Berkeley First, the original developer, to explore options for the future of the site,” NHG said.
The landlord has estimated that its total building safety costs across its stock will amount to £173m, with cladding being replaced on 17 schemes.
Alongside its financial report, NHG has followed some of its peers and published its first environmental, social and governance (ESG) report setting out its sustainability credentials to investors.
Mr Phillips, who is set to leave NHG shortly having announced his retirement in November, said: “Once again, our annual results show Notting Hill Genesis to be a financially sound organisation with substantial liquidity.
“This has been a difficult year as we’ve sought to support residents and our own people through the uncertainty of the pandemic and to address significant challenges associated with building safety.
“Nevertheless, the results give our customers, investors and other stakeholders confidence in our ability not only to withstand challenges within the housing sector but also to continue to deliver homes for a range of needs across the capital.”
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